The Running Event 2012 - Tuesday

Maria Walton, Flint and Tom Norwood of Luna Sandals

What a busy day! We started out with a business breakfast / conference, then all agreed we could step outside and go play for a bit. Everyone went to change and we took out our spiffy new Luna Oso sandals that our friends had brought us and took them for a spin on the Green Belt.

You might remember I had tested the Leadville model a couple months ago. I had initial doubts about my ability to run in sandals, then took a gradual approach and eventually ran in them. I was quite happy with the results, but experienced increasing problems with the plug system that holds the front lace. It twisted and bent the strap so much that it tore through the skin between my toes.

Upon trying the Oso, I could see right away that much work had been done to improve the concept. The plug now holds firmly in place and Luna added rubber patches to the laces so that the front buckle doesn't slip and the back strap sticks to your heel. The outsole is an aggressive spiky pattern that looks mean and grippy.

I took to the trails with a bit of a worry that I'd have a hard time breaking in the sandal without breaking my skin. I was wrong. From the first steps of the run, I felt the sandals were solid, firmly in place and very grippy. And Texas trails are not easy.

Something needs to be said about how the Luna Sandals somehow force a shorter stride and thus a faster cadence, even for a reasonably experienced forefoot striker like me. This results in great control and quick turnover, two key elements for running surefooted. In a nutshell, I loved them! I'll spend some time writing about the Oso in a further review.

The B2R shoe

Then back we went to the Convention Center, where the show floor finally opened at 4:00pm. To our great surprise, our booth space was neighbor to Eric Orton's, who was in town to display his new B2R shoes and their intriguing split-toe tips.

I will spend more time with Eric tomorrow and ask him a lot of questions about this shoe, but I already know it's been over 2 years in the making... and that he's already working on a trail version. Definitely to be followed.